05.25.2013   As daylight fades into night Dan Russell prepares his boat for a night of fishing. He will load 500 pounds of ice and that will keep his catch cold. It’s shad season. The fish are running up the Connecticut River to spawn.

Linda Holter and her dog, Sylvia at the Enfield Dog Park

The greeting party at the Enfield Dog Park

A familiar landmark at the Enfield Dog Park

Playing around at the Enfield Dog Park

Amanda Staggs and Bitsy at the Enfield Dog Park. The park has been open since December, 2011.

“I think it’s just fantastic. It’s something that’s fun for them,” said Casper as he watched a group of third-grade boys and girls take their hacks with smiles and enthusiasm. (Quote via Steve Goode.)

2013.05.21 – Bloomfield, CT – Third-graders pose for a photo with golf legend Billy Casper during the SNAG program at Metacomet Elementary School Tuesday. Casper visited the school at the invitation of Ciaran Carr, PGA pro and general manager at Wintonbury Hills Golf Course. Metacomet phys-ed teacher, Jim Varano, stands with the students at left.

2013.05.21 – Bloomfield, CT – Shelleecia Roxborough, Jivonne Feliciano, Jaydin Roland and Rob Streckfus (l-r) react as Nicholas Jones (right) hits a good shot during the SNAG program at Metacomet Elementary School. Streckfus is an assistant golf pro at Wintonbury Hill Golf Course in Bloomfield.

2013.05.21 – Bloomfield, CT – Sylvester McGovern (right) takes a shot during the SNAG program at Metacomet Elementary School Tuesday, while instructor Tom Burns, from Wintonbury Hills Golf Course, and classmate Diana Theriault, watch.

2013.05.21 – Bloomfield, CT – Lake Mclean (cq) leaps for joy after hitting the pin with his shot during the SNAG program at Metacomet Elementary School.

2013.05.21 – Bloomfield, CT – Nicholas Jones high fives Rob Streckfus, an assisant golf pro at the Wintonbury Hills Golf Course, during a golf lesson with the SNAG program at the Metacomet Elementary School. Classmates Shelleecia Roxborough (partially hidden,) Jivonne Feliciano, and Jaydin Roland round out the foursome.

2013.05.21 – Bloomfield, CT – Time Kreiker, Victoria Rivera, Shelleecia Roxborough, and Diana Theriault (l-r) shake hands with golf legend Billy Casper during the SNAG program at Metacomet Elementary School.

2013.05.21 – Farmington, CT – Tyrell Eason of Bristol takes the plunge off a rope swing in Farmington on the Farmingto River Tuesday afternoon as temperatures reached into the 90′s for the first time this year. Later in the day thunderstorms moved through the state dumping a quick downpour on many, some areas saw hail to boot.

2013.05.21 – Manchester, CT – (L to R) Michael Musumeci, Ryan Davis, Steven Soto and Thomas Blays of Cheney Tech play a game of “2 ball” during a stoppage of play against Wilcox Tech due to lightening Tuesday afternoon in Manchester. The game was called due to heavy rain that followed the delay with Cheney leading 4-1 and Wilcox at bat in the top of the 5th inning. The game will be continued Wednesday afternoon. Isiah Quiles (C) watches the action after being knocked out earlier in the game.

BERLIN, CT – 5.21.2013 – MARTEKA HIKE BERLIN – This shed-like structure is neither an outhouse nor a cabin. Its original purpose is shrouded in a bit of mystery, I suppose. There are three miles and 175 acres within the Hatchery Brook Conservation Area in Berlin. The former (and largely abandoned) Girl Scouts Camp Meribrite is located along the preserve’s blue trail. PATRICK RAYCRAFT | praycraft@courant.com

5/2/2013 — A woman carries her child through a field near the collapsed Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma, Monday, May 20, 2013. A tornado as much as a mile wide with winds up with winds up to 200 mph roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods, setting buildings on fire and landing a direct blow on an elementary school. (AP Photo Sue Ogrocki)

5/20/2013 — A man and two children walk through debris after a huge tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, near Oklahoma City, May 20, 2013. REUTERS/Richard Rowe

5/20/2013 — Rescue workers help free one of the 15 people that were trapped at a medical building at the Moore hospital complex after a tornado tore through the area of Moore, Oklahoma May 20, 2013. REUTERS/Gene Blevins

5/20/2013 — A teacher hugs a child at Briarwood Elementary school after a tornado destroyed the school in south Oklahoma City, Monday, May 20, 2013. A monstrous tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs, flattening entire neighborhoods with winds up to 200 mph, setting buildings on fire and landing a direct blow on an elementary school. (The Oklahoman, Paul Hellstern)

5/20/2013 — Abby Madi (L) and Peterson Zatterlee comforts Zaterlee’s dog Rippy, after a tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, May 20, 2013. A 2-mile-wide (3-km-wide) tornado tore through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on Monday, killing at least 51 people while destroying entire tracts of homes, piling cars atop one another, and trapping two dozen school children beneath rubble. REUTERS/Gene Blevins

5/20/2013 — Rescuers recover a horse from the remains of a day care center and destroyed barns, Monday, May 20, 2013 in Moore, Okla.(The Oklahoman, Steve Sisney)

5/20/2013 — Children look at destroyed homes in the aftermath of a huge tornado that struck Moore, Oklahoma, Monday, May 20, 2013. Tuesday. (Gene Blevins/Zuma Press/MCT)

5/20/2013 — A kitten is rescued from the tornado wreckage in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Monday, May 20, 2013. (Marcus DiPaola/Xinhua via Zuma Press/MCT)

South Windsor shortstop Alex Goslin runs down East Hartford base runner Taylor Cafro after Cafro tried to steal 2nd. East Hartford beat South Windsor 4-2 at South Windsor High School.

2013.05.20 – Clinton, CT – (L-R) Wood carver Kris Connors and Mack Goller, a student at The Williams School working on his senior project, carve a White Pine tree trunk into a Black Bear. Connor says he will use chainsaws for 90% of the carving and the rest he will finish with power tools. “My approach,” says the former high school art teacher, “is half math and half intuition.” After 25-hours of carving, Connor estimates the 1500-pound trunk is about halfway on its way to becoming a 1200-pound bear. Photograph by Mark Mirko | mmirko@courant.com

2013.05.20 – Stamford, CT – Early-bird commuters wait in Monday morning’s cool mist at the Stamford station for a train to Grand Central. Many commuters were bussed in from Bridgeport to bypass the site of Friday’s Metro-North train derailment and collision on the Bridgeport/Fairfield line. But the expected Monday morning chaos was minimal as many commuters apparently either telecommuted or found other transportation to the city.

Jayson Holt, of Mt. Vernon, NY, reacts to the announcement of the School of Business, at the Southern Connecticut State University at Webster Bank Arena Friday morning.

PHOTOS BY BRAD HORRIGAN|borrigan@courant.com

Let the graduations begin! Courant photographer Brad Horrigan was on hand to cover the SCSU commencement ceremonies held at Webster Arena in Bridgeport Friday morning. Stay tuned to this space for lots more graduations all week.

Southern Connecticut State University commencement exercises at Webster Bank Arena Friday morning.

Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream gives graduates a samples of ice cream after they receive their diplomas at the Southern Connecticut State University at Webster Bank Arena Friday morning.

Hartford police officer, Jim Elliott, of Avon, is hosting a benefit for the Newtown Memorial Fund, this Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at the Russian Lady in Hartford. The benefit will be followed by a ride to circle the circumference of Connecticut in 26 hours on June 14, six months after the massacre at Sandy Hook School. Elliott is training every day to build up to 550 miles a week as the ride date nears. He said he is riding to represent the law enforcement community of Connecticut and his U.S. military cycling team. Elliott is riding for one hour for each of the 26 children, teachers and staff lost. “I don’t mind suffering for the 26 hours to honor all the victims,” he said.

It definitely is.

Didn’t John Beluschi and Dan Aykroyd do this skit? The Killer Bees?

Don’t mess with this guy. Ever.

Its a thought, I think. Or maybe a backwards song.

One of its nine lives, and its a doozie.

Here’s looking at you, Kid.

This would make a great tee shirt, I think.

Have you seen this man? I know, every Zombie looks alike.

Tastefully done, of course.

Its eternal, but this love letter is probably already gone.

Shades of Picasso?

Another great tag

Munch has nothing on this guy.

Some of its so beautiful you want to take it home. But you can’t. Pictures are good, though.

Much of the time the art is in the artist’s name itself.

Somebody spray painted “Monsters are Real!” on the concrete. Here’s proof.

The walls at Heaven are constantly evolving, constantly changing. That’s the beauty of it.

Christina Choute, of Hartford, poses in front of a mural on a recent trip with friends.

President Barack Obama raises his hand with a question during a visit to a pre-K class at Moravia Park Elementary School on May 17, 2013, in Baltimore, Maryland. Obama is visiting Baltimore on what the administration called his second Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tour. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGANMANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

2013.05.17 – Willimantic, CT – Sister Mark, principal of St. Mary – St. Joseph School in Willimantic, lifts a blind to allow fresh air into a classroom where priests’ vestments (foreground) and other items were brought after last night’s fire at the 110-year-old St. Mary Church. Nine companies responded to the three alarm fire that broke out Thursday evening just blocks from a street festival. No injuries have been reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation. Photograph by Mark Mirko | mmirko@courant.com

2013.05.16 – Durham, CT – Al Kostuk, of Durham, stirs a batch of kettle corn at the Durham Farmer’s Market on the town green Thursday. Kostuk, a retired mechanic, is the proprietor of Pisgah Mountain Primitives and gives early American living history demonstrations, including open fire cooking and blacksmithing. He cooks and sells the kettle corn at the market every Thursday afternoon.

There are some who believe it’s the red carpet because of the (nearly) bloody battles between photographers for the best position, the best angle, that split-second that will make their image stand out from all the others. Sharp elbows and sharper tongues are the background music for the drama that plays out on the stage of cinema and stardom.

French model and designer Ines de la Fressange arrives for the screening of the film “Young and Beautiful,” May 16, 2013, at the 66th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France. AFP PHOTO / POOL / OLIVIER ANRIGOOLIVIER

Chinese actress and member of the Un Certain Regard Jury Zhang Ziyi poses during a photocall, on May 16, 2013, at the 66th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. AFP PHOTO/ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULATANNE/AFP/Getty Images

Model Cindy Crawford poses on the red carpet as she arrives for the screening of the film ‘The Great Gatsby’ and for the opening ceremony of the 66th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes May 15, 2013. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

Pudsey attends “Pudsey: The Movie” photocall during the 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals on May 16, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)

2013.05.16 – Old Saybrook, CT – Lighthouses, like greenhouses, are appreciated largely in spring and summer when we return to the outdoors and enjoy gardens and beaches alike. Lighthouses are part of New England’s iconography, like maple syrup, foliage and rocky beaches. The Breakwater Light is not open to the public. Photo by JOHN WOIKE | woike@courant.com

2013.05.15 – Simsbury, CT – The Simsbury High School Crew teams were out for a training session on the Farmington River Wednesday afternoon. The teams will be competing in the Connecticut Public Schools Rowing Association Sprints Championship at Lake Waramaug this coming Sunday. Photo was taken with my Nikon D300s, transferred to my iPhone using an Eye-Fi card then filtered through Instagram. Photo by JOHN WOIKE | woike@courant.com

2013.05.15 – Old Saybrook, CT – Dede Brown (third from left) laughs as she is offered a deck of cards by Virginia Bundonis of Old Saybrook while playing with Ogden Bigelow (L) of Essex Meadows and Phil McNemer during a bridge tournament at the Old Saybrook Pavilion. The weekly tournament, played every Wednesday from 12-4, is sponsored by Old Saybrook Parks and Recreation and is directed by Claire Sauer of Lyme. Sauer, who started the duplicate bridge game about ten years ago says “duplicate bridge is often very cutthroat,” but because master points are not rewarded the Old Saybrook game has a reputation “as a friendly game.” Photograph by Mark Mirko | mmirko@courant.com

Prince Harry shouts to a teammate on the field at the Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup at the Greenwich Polo Club Wednesday. CLOE POISSON|cpoisson@courant.com